Gujarat BJP rebel group leaders had their first meeting with the Congress in New Delhi on Sunday to discuss their tie up and to form a common strategy to fight against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The rebel group was represented by former chief minister Suresh Mehta, Member of Parliament Vallabh Kathiria and suspended legislator Gordhan Zadafia, sources in the rebel group said.
From the Congress, three senior leaders, Vyalar Ravi, Prithviraj Chauhan and B K Hariprasad were present in the meeting, sources further said.
"The meeting was to understand each other before the state assembly elections. We discussed a lot of things," a rebel leader told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
"The issues like when to quit the BJP and join Congress was discussed at length," he said.
"We also discussed how to select assembly candidates. We have decided to pick candidates of a particular constituency either from our group or from Congress after assessing his or her winning ability in that particular area," the leader added.
"We have also agreed to support each others candidates in the coming elections. Strategies to fight BJP were also discussed in the meeting," he further said.
The meeting of rebel leaders is a outcome of hectic discussion among the group headed by Keshubhai Patel last week in New Delhi to finalise their course of action to fight against Modi after election schedule was announced.
The BJP central leadership had also tried to strike a compromise with the rebels. However, the idea was not entertained by them, sources said.
Two BJP MPs and around eight to ten MLAs are likely to join Congress before the elections, sources further claimed.
"Consultations with the three member Congress committee will continue in future also," sources added.